Down with Fireball! If you need to kill multiple targets, sweepers like Earthquake or more efficient spells like Rolling Thunder are in order. If you want some resistance to countermagic, Kaervek's Torch or Demonfire are options.
Personally, I'd rather go with Goblin Bombardment. I run it in my Elf deck to turn Elf/Wolf tokens into removal and direct damage. Best game ever? killing a Legacy Vial Goblins deck with an Elf-powered Goblin Bombardment.
It seems I'm the only one who thinks Jungle Lion is superior to Tattermunge Maniac. I'd much rather be restricted from blocking than forced to attack. Oftentimes, I find myself opposing a fatty who will swing in the next turn, but who could kill my 2/1. I don't want to waste pump spells on killing creatures if I'm expecting to kill the opponent before I die, so I'd rather wait until the fattie swings then I'll come in and dump a load of pump on their head. Throughout all of this, choosing when to attack is the key, and being prevented from blocking is of little or no effect. In my post-Shadowmoor mono-green deck, I believe I'm still running 4 Lions but only 2-3 Maniacs.
By the way, watch your toughness. It's fun to have 5 guys out on the second turn, but Quirion Ranger, Skyshroud Elite, Jungle Lion, Tattermunge Maniac, and Skarrgan Pit Skulk could all have a toughness of 1. Let's not lose to Nausea, ok? =)
is mutavault a good card for the deck?, it's a pumped land with shroud most of the time..
i am not sure, and i like to hear your thought's on this card.
A bit of a necropost, but here's a longer answer:
Mutavault is great... evades Sorcery-speed sweepers, can't be countered, is a decent size. The problem is he's not better than anything else in the deck, so it's hard to find room for him. If you try to replace existing lands with him, you have to understand that we're already supporting 3-4 colors with 17-18 land, which is very shaky already. If we ignore the lands and treat it as a spell, there's again nothing that we'd like to cut.
When considering a new card, the primary focus should not be what the card gives you (resistance to Wrath effects, resistance to countermagic, etc.) but the NET effect that the new card would have on the deck. In other words, ask yourself what you'd cut for it, and why the exchange is generally favorable. I think it's common to concentrate on the positive aspects of cards, but that ignores the strengths of existing cards in the deck.
I've been thinking about everlasting torment from shadowmoor as a sidebard choice. Its seems good to me to be able to shut down cop red and the likes as well as life gain all at once. Anybody else thought about this?
Probably not... not a lot of white uses CoPs, and if we're talking janky white enchantments I'd be more afraid of Worship. If White is big in your metai, consider Anarchy. Otherwise, Sulfuric Vortex is probably better.
I think that flame javelin will work nice in my deck as it ups the damage kill faster. Everything does 3 or 4 damage and there is the potential from the rings as well, and the guides helps make sure it gets out there fast enough.
Getting out there fast enough isn't the problem in burn (with optimized damage/mana ratios). Getting to the end consistently is the problem. Hamstringing your manabase with 1-shot mana sources is not the way to get there. SSG/ESG has the same tradeoff as Dark Ritual: You're losing card advantage for tempo. Thing is, Burn needs to maximize the utility of every one of its cards and at the same time it can't capitalize off the tempo gain. It's not going to drop 3 Sarcomancies and swing for 6 in turn 2, it's just going to cast an Incinerate or an extra Bolt: 2 cards for 3 damage, whee (this is why we don't run Sonic Seizure)!
By only running 16 stable sources of mana and 14 mountains, you're forced to run only 3 Fireblasts.
By running only 16 land, you can get double-SSG, no-land openers that pretty much have to be mulled. If those were land, you'd get more playable hands.
Even worse, you'll get games that open with SSG+Mountain, you blow the SSG, and get manascrewed for the rest of the game. Yes Burn has a lot of 1-drops, but a bolt per turn is too slow of a clock against anything decent in Legacy.
Lastly, SSG doesn't build Thresh for your Barbarian Rings.
You're using a lot of 3-for-2 and 4-for-3 spells which are oftentimes thought of as too slow for burn. I'd recommend Manamorphose, Flame Rift, and Keldon Marauders instead of some of these less efficient spells. My most recent list is www.curby.net/pub/temp/burn.htm . It averages only 3 damage per spell, which might be lower than your deck, but each spell costs an avereage of 1.37, which lets me cast more spells without mana acceleration.
Over at the source I put up "primers" of sorts for making casual decks out of all commons. Here's a copy of a post from there with my most recent mono black aggro design. For more history, search there for "CAMBA". I know that this list is not graveyard-centric like yours, but it is offered in the spirit of your request for more competitive designs. Have fun!
New Decklist
// Mana (22)
18 [R] Swamp (1)
4 [R] Dark Ritual
This update actually slightly lowers the curve of this deck, but going lower than 18 lands is too risky.
I've found that evasion is paramount because our guys have low toughness and can't stand toe-to-toe with other creatures. For that reason I'm taking out some normal guys and putting in 4 fliers and 4 more Shadows. Skittering Skirge is a bit risky but is one of our more undercosted attackers. Even if it's the only critter on the board, it can cause serious trouble if left unanswered.
Yes, Unholy Strength opens the door for 2-for-1s, but it is simply too efficient to pass up. Duress will help us peek into their hand to assess the riskiness of casting it.
// Disruption and Removal (13)
4 [US] Duress
4 [FE] Hymn to Tourach (1)
3 [MM] Snuff Out
2 [VI] Funeral Charm
By taking a more aggressive role, our utility suite is slightly reduced. Duress and Hymn are must-haves, and Funeral Charm and Snuff Out are still doing their job. Consume Spirit doesn't grow very big with our tight manabase though, so it is cut. While we lose some reach, our evasive creatures should make up for it.
// Sideboard
SB: 4 [FE] Order of the Ebon Hand (3)
SB: 4 [TE] Diabolic Edict
SB: 4 [SHM] Darkscale Ritual
SB: 3 [WL] Spinning Darkness
We're focusing on evasion, and Orders just don't get through as often as I'd like. However, Kithkin are gaining popularity, and white weenie decks are always around. The rest of the side is a mixture of removal spells for untargetables, black creatures, and lifegain. Note that black Changelings can't be targeted by any of our removal except Funeral Charm!
Monoblack commons have absolutely no defense against resolved non-creature artifacts and enchantments. If this becomes a problem for you, put 4 Distress in the side to come in along with Duress, and try to pluck out problems before they're cast. That's pretty much the best you can do.
EDIT: It's such a shame that Dross Golem is unusable, when Spire Golem and Razor Golem are so good in their colors. The quickest you can cast him is turn two with two Swamps and a Dark Ritual, and you might not get your third land till very late in the game.
EDIT: Rite of Consumption and Darkscale Ritual are promising.
Well after going out and over exploring one route I come back with just few tweaks from the regular configuration that help make this run a little smoother in my opinion.
No offense, but without further explanation, this deck seems pretty unoptimized. What is its goldfish speed (and how much damage are you assuming with Pillar for that speed)? In burn, Simian Spirit Guide is best used to throw down a first turn Ankh of Mishra. You will almost never want to cast it, and you don't really want all that early mana in a deck that lives and breathes by its card efficiency (1-shot mana effects are worse than land unless you absolutely need something to land turn-1). Also, the fact that it is RFGed for mana means you don't build Thresh for Barbarian Ring (Lotus Petal would be better for that, but then you're looking at Shrapnel Blast/Ankh Burn.). Pyrostatic Pillar seems like your Ankh replacement, but everything in burn is 3 or less too, so you'll take a lot of damage as well. Are you finding that you can't race with decks in your meta? Is there a lot of storm combo?
2 Fanatics seems odd (either you want them or you don't, but try Keldon Marauders anyway), and 2 Fireblast is suboptimal but understandable with your low Mountain count.
Chain of Plasma, Volcanic Hammer, Thunderbolt, and Incinerate are all pretty inefficient burn. I'd suggest running Price of Progress (meta-dependent), Flames of the Blood Hand, Browbeat, Flame Rift, or Keldon Marauders first for cards that costs more than 1. In a powered meta with plenty of nonbasics, definitely use Price of Progress in the main. In a powered meta, 3-drops like Browbeat and Flames also get around Thresh decks' Counterbalance and Spell Snare. If you're not battling tier 1 combo decks, taking a more traditional burn deck stance might be worth a try. I'd rather play the suicide game with Flame Rift in a fast burn deck than hurt myself with Pillar in a slower deck (incidentally, the slower speed will give their combo strategy or recurring aggro threats better game against you).
There's not a bad end of the stick to Browbeat in this deck. That's just my opinion, but as most other people believe when it comes to their opinions, I think I'm right.
My deck actually looks a lot like yours, but with Flame Rift instead of Browbeat. Yes, drawing 3 cards is great. Yes, doing 5 damage to them is great. However, giving them a choice in a timing-critical deck like Burn is very bad. The point of direct damage is guaranteed results. The point of Burn's creatures (Mogg Fanatic, Keldon Marauders) over others (Ball Lightning, Spark Elemental) is guaranteed results. Browbeat comes in and turns that philosophy on its head.
It's just a matter of time until someone at 8 invites you to draw 3 then proceeds to beat your face in the next turn for the win. Browbeat is best when it is cast early, because an opponent at 20 will gladly take the damage. However, without acceleration the earliest is turn 3, when they should be close to single digit life already, so they might have a valid reason to give you cards instead. Even though it hurts, I opt for the guaranteed results of Flame Rift. Two lands giving 8 damage (with Flame Rift and Fireblast) is a ridiculously powerful finisher.
I really can't go down on board clearers any more than that. I really would actually drop a mountain instead of a Quake. I do like Marauders. However, are they really better than Fanatic? I suppose if the meta ever shifts back to aggro we/I can go back to Fanatics (for Lackey).
Marauders would still be superior, though you might consider running a set of both in a really aggro-heavy meta. 8 Bolts can deal with their 4 Lackeys on turn 1, and if we're on the play we can suspend a first turn Rift Bolt or cast a second turn 2-drop (Magma Jet would be ideal) for countless more answers. Or y'know, let Lackey hit once or twice and blow 'em all away with a Flamebreak. Sweepers love decks that overextend.
I've decided I don't like Shard Volley. I might still run 2, but I can't recommend more than that. I honestly think they're worse than Lava Spike, and thats saying something. I wouldn't recommend dropping Spikes for Shards, its just not worth it.
[snip]
Cartman the biggest thing to add is 4x Chain Lightning, that above all else should not be missing from any Burn list, regardless of it's goals.
100% agreement, except for the slight against Lava Spike. I love bolts, and I seldom bolt creatures, so a 3-for-1 at the dome is fine by me. It would be nice if it were an Instant though.
Only real noticable change from my usual lists is I've opted for 4x Flamebreak over the usual 3-2 sweeper split, and I've dropped the Forks and Fanatics. I'm liking the marauders, though I'm unsure if I like them in multiples or not. You can build up considerable board presence with just 2 Fanatics, but marauders follow a different line of play.
Much like you are, I'm keeping steady at 20 land, 4 Fireblast, 2 Shard Volley. I very seldomly have to mull because of landscrew, but I'm flooded more than I'd like to be. You've a slightly higher curve than I do, but I'm wondering if you've considered dropping to 19 land.
Heh, I just love drawing multiple Marauders. Since I can't maindeck Price of Progress in my meta and I don't like Browbeat, it's the only card that can do 5 damage, all while keeping their attacks at bay while I wait for it to lose summoning sickness. Many things can block a 2/1 and survive. Fewer things are willing to trade with a 3/3 that will be dead next turn anyway (note that Marauders is very often a 5 for 2 for this reason).
@Pizza, have you considered running some critters? You're having to choose between a lot of suboptimal burn for that reason. Please do give Keldon Marauders a try. I extolled their virtues above. If your meta is powered up, Price of Progress should be no problem, but I've got mine in the side because my meta has a lot of casual decks in it. I totally stopped using Chain of Plasma because it turns out that a fast aggro deck with dead removal in hand doesn't at all mind chaining (even though chaining is usually a good thing for you cause it turns everything into cheap Bolts).
When I tried making a Bauble deck, I ended up using 8 fetches along with the 8 Baubles and 4 Wraiths, and splashing white for Lightning Helix in the main and Disenchant in the side. It makes it more fragile, but it's fun running what's essentially a 40 card deck.
Lastly, I've been testing out Barbarian Ring, and it seems to be pretty good. When goldfishing, you'll get Thresh around the time you deal the last points of damage, but you'll go slower in a real match, so it should work out fine. Good luck!
Sh33p, I have a card to bring up to you...note, I've only read the first page of the thread and it may have been mentioned, but you've been editing your OP...so, anyway: Surging Flame is a card that I remember seeing when playing online against burn decks, obviously a 4-of. I imagine this would be way low on the list, but what do you think of the card in burn, and is it idiocy to even consider it?
The easiest way of thinking about it is that we don't like unpredictability (e.g. Browbeat), and without a really good side effect (e.g. Magma Jet, Keldon Marauders), 2 damage for 1R is bad. If we were to use such cards, putting Lash Out in the side or Browbeat in the main is probably better. Lash Out guarantees 3 damage for 2 mana with about a 10/27 chance of doing 3 to the dome as well. I haven't done the math, but I think that's better than the chances of finding another Surging Flame. Clash also lets us Scry 1, and has more synergy with Magma Jet.
The CipT is really a Problem, many Decks run just 16-18 Mountains...with shadvolley now maybe 18-20. They have to tap 7 Mana to win the game (or sacrifice) and they want to do it as fast as possible. If you have no cards in hand you already have a Problem, and if you sacrificed Mountains already the last thing you want to see is a land that comes tapped. Also against aggro it is maybe important to play flamebreak round 3
Iam also not an expert with the Deck just my feelings for the card coming from the experience as an opponent^^
Ah and it is really a boring decktyp if you ask me, but the right one to teach m 8 years old brother to play 1.5, tap mana burn player is fine for him
Yeah, I agree with all that. Megaliths is slow to give mana (CIPT), conditional (requires Hellbent), only pings for 1, and requires too much mana to power (4 lands on the board to cast your draw then activate). While I'm not too impressed with Barbarian Ring either, it seems better to me than the Megaliths, getting around points 1, 3, and 4. You could consider Megaliths in an accelerated build with Petals, Spirit Guides, Moxen, etc., but then you're playing a different deck.
I also agree that Burn is a bit boring, but I like using simpler archetypes from time to time for a change of pace. Sure is a breath of fresh air after playing Prison and Control all day! (Plus, you've got time for a snack after your 15 minute match :tongue:).
Also, with the amount of lands we've got, Demonfire is often a Shock for three times the mana. The only X spells that Burn seriously considers are Sweepers, because the mana inefficiency is made up for with the multiple targets. If you want to get around counterspells, run a few Boseiju in the side.
Aside form that my only concern is that Mogg Fanatic isn't fast enough for this build, and possibly neither is Flamebreak. Both are a tad more defensive than I would expect in a deck geared to what you want.
Not really intersted in marauders - to slow and to vulnerable; I can't see him actually having a successful attack.
I'm facing a bit of a similar problem. My meta tends to be creature-heavy, so I've actually settled on using both Flamebreak and Keldon Marauders.
While the Marauders don't stop Lackey, you've got tons of answers to Lackey. While your Marauders don't 2-for-1 with opposing */1s in combat, it swings through or trades with considerably bigger threats. While Marauders costs 2, it guarantees 2 damage and you've still got 16 1-drops (we'll not count Shard Volley as a first-turn play).
A Keldon Marauders can stall the board long enough for them to overextend and you to find your third land for Flamebreak, something that Fanatic can't do.
A Marauders can trick your opponent into not trading 3/3 for 3/3 in combat because your guy will die anyway and they're used to thinking about the long game, whereas you're ecstatic whenever you get 5 damage for 2 mana and 1 card. Opponents know you have plenty of burn, so they'll be loathe to block your Marauders with their Goyf, Tombstalker, etc. and risk a Bolt or sweeper to their beater. They might chump-block your Marauders with a Squirrel Token, but then your Marauders will have done twice the damage to the head compared to a chumped Fanatic.
Marauders is no more vulnerable than Fanatic. While it's got a definite maximum lifespan, very seldom does Fanatic live beyond 3 turns or do more than 2 damage to the opponent. Marauders guarantees 2 to the dome while trading with a decent sized beater, holding off an attack, or getting a large beater (e.g. Goyf) into bolt range.
Burn is not afraid to use inefficient burn as long as there's a good side effect. I run Magma Jet because I can fix mana screw and mana flood, in spite of the puny 2-for-2 damage ratio. In the same sense, I run Marauders because they can be used as defense and offense. I run a lot of suicide (Flame Rift, Barbarian Ring, Flamebreak) and have a creature-heavy meta so the defensive possibilities of Marauders are significant, while at the same time they do not diminish their offensive capabilities.
I admit that Fanatic is great if your meta has a lot of Bridge from Below in it, but otherwise Marauders seem vastly superior. I've both played with and against both Fanatics and Marauders, so please try them before you knock them!
Personally, I'd rather go with Goblin Bombardment. I run it in my Elf deck to turn Elf/Wolf tokens into removal and direct damage. Best game ever? killing a Legacy Vial Goblins deck with an Elf-powered Goblin Bombardment.
By the way, watch your toughness. It's fun to have 5 guys out on the second turn, but Quirion Ranger, Skyshroud Elite, Jungle Lion, Tattermunge Maniac, and Skarrgan Pit Skulk could all have a toughness of 1. Let's not lose to Nausea, ok? =)
A bit of a necropost, but here's a longer answer:
Mutavault is great... evades Sorcery-speed sweepers, can't be countered, is a decent size. The problem is he's not better than anything else in the deck, so it's hard to find room for him. If you try to replace existing lands with him, you have to understand that we're already supporting 3-4 colors with 17-18 land, which is very shaky already. If we ignore the lands and treat it as a spell, there's again nothing that we'd like to cut.
When considering a new card, the primary focus should not be what the card gives you (resistance to Wrath effects, resistance to countermagic, etc.) but the NET effect that the new card would have on the deck. In other words, ask yourself what you'd cut for it, and why the exchange is generally favorable. I think it's common to concentrate on the positive aspects of cards, but that ignores the strengths of existing cards in the deck.
Probably not... not a lot of white uses CoPs, and if we're talking janky white enchantments I'd be more afraid of Worship. If White is big in your metai, consider Anarchy. Otherwise, Sulfuric Vortex is probably better.
Getting out there fast enough isn't the problem in burn (with optimized damage/mana ratios). Getting to the end consistently is the problem. Hamstringing your manabase with 1-shot mana sources is not the way to get there. SSG/ESG has the same tradeoff as Dark Ritual: You're losing card advantage for tempo. Thing is, Burn needs to maximize the utility of every one of its cards and at the same time it can't capitalize off the tempo gain. It's not going to drop 3 Sarcomancies and swing for 6 in turn 2, it's just going to cast an Incinerate or an extra Bolt: 2 cards for 3 damage, whee (this is why we don't run Sonic Seizure)!
By only running 16 stable sources of mana and 14 mountains, you're forced to run only 3 Fireblasts.
By running only 16 land, you can get double-SSG, no-land openers that pretty much have to be mulled. If those were land, you'd get more playable hands.
Even worse, you'll get games that open with SSG+Mountain, you blow the SSG, and get manascrewed for the rest of the game. Yes Burn has a lot of 1-drops, but a bolt per turn is too slow of a clock against anything decent in Legacy.
Lastly, SSG doesn't build Thresh for your Barbarian Rings.
You're using a lot of 3-for-2 and 4-for-3 spells which are oftentimes thought of as too slow for burn. I'd recommend Manamorphose, Flame Rift, and Keldon Marauders instead of some of these less efficient spells. My most recent list is www.curby.net/pub/temp/burn.htm . It averages only 3 damage per spell, which might be lower than your deck, but each spell costs an avereage of 1.37, which lets me cast more spells without mana acceleration.
New Decklist
// Mana (22)
18 [R] Swamp (1)
4 [R] Dark Ritual
// Creatures (18)
4 [EX] Carnophage
4 [TE] Dauthi Slayer
4 [TE] Dauthi Horror
4 [US] Skittering Skirge
2 [AL] Phyrexian War Beast (2)
// Pumpers (7)
4 [MR] Bonesplitter
3 [5E] Unholy Strength
// Disruption and Removal (13)
4 [US] Duress
4 [FE] Hymn to Tourach (1)
3 [MM] Snuff Out
2 [VI] Funeral Charm
// Sideboard
SB: 4 [FE] Order of the Ebon Hand (3)
SB: 4 [TE] Diabolic Edict
SB: 4 [SHM] Darkscale Ritual
SB: 3 [WL] Spinning Darkness
Monoblack commons have absolutely no defense against resolved non-creature artifacts and enchantments. If this becomes a problem for you, put 4 Distress in the side to come in along with Duress, and try to pluck out problems before they're cast. That's pretty much the best you can do.
EDIT: It's such a shame that Dross Golem is unusable, when Spire Golem and Razor Golem are so good in their colors. The quickest you can cast him is turn two with two Swamps and a Dark Ritual, and you might not get your third land till very late in the game.
EDIT: Rite of Consumption and Darkscale Ritual are promising.
No offense, but without further explanation, this deck seems pretty unoptimized. What is its goldfish speed (and how much damage are you assuming with Pillar for that speed)? In burn, Simian Spirit Guide is best used to throw down a first turn Ankh of Mishra. You will almost never want to cast it, and you don't really want all that early mana in a deck that lives and breathes by its card efficiency (1-shot mana effects are worse than land unless you absolutely need something to land turn-1). Also, the fact that it is RFGed for mana means you don't build Thresh for Barbarian Ring (Lotus Petal would be better for that, but then you're looking at Shrapnel Blast/Ankh Burn.). Pyrostatic Pillar seems like your Ankh replacement, but everything in burn is 3 or less too, so you'll take a lot of damage as well. Are you finding that you can't race with decks in your meta? Is there a lot of storm combo?
2 Fanatics seems odd (either you want them or you don't, but try Keldon Marauders anyway), and 2 Fireblast is suboptimal but understandable with your low Mountain count.
Chain of Plasma, Volcanic Hammer, Thunderbolt, and Incinerate are all pretty inefficient burn. I'd suggest running Price of Progress (meta-dependent), Flames of the Blood Hand, Browbeat, Flame Rift, or Keldon Marauders first for cards that costs more than 1. In a powered meta with plenty of nonbasics, definitely use Price of Progress in the main. In a powered meta, 3-drops like Browbeat and Flames also get around Thresh decks' Counterbalance and Spell Snare. If you're not battling tier 1 combo decks, taking a more traditional burn deck stance might be worth a try. I'd rather play the suicide game with Flame Rift in a fast burn deck than hurt myself with Pillar in a slower deck (incidentally, the slower speed will give their combo strategy or recurring aggro threats better game against you).
My deck actually looks a lot like yours, but with Flame Rift instead of Browbeat. Yes, drawing 3 cards is great. Yes, doing 5 damage to them is great. However, giving them a choice in a timing-critical deck like Burn is very bad. The point of direct damage is guaranteed results. The point of Burn's creatures (Mogg Fanatic, Keldon Marauders) over others (Ball Lightning, Spark Elemental) is guaranteed results. Browbeat comes in and turns that philosophy on its head.
It's just a matter of time until someone at 8 invites you to draw 3 then proceeds to beat your face in the next turn for the win. Browbeat is best when it is cast early, because an opponent at 20 will gladly take the damage. However, without acceleration the earliest is turn 3, when they should be close to single digit life already, so they might have a valid reason to give you cards instead. Even though it hurts, I opt for the guaranteed results of Flame Rift. Two lands giving 8 damage (with Flame Rift and Fireblast) is a ridiculously powerful finisher.
Marauders would still be superior, though you might consider running a set of both in a really aggro-heavy meta. 8 Bolts can deal with their 4 Lackeys on turn 1, and if we're on the play we can suspend a first turn Rift Bolt or cast a second turn 2-drop (Magma Jet would be ideal) for countless more answers. Or y'know, let Lackey hit once or twice and blow 'em all away with a Flamebreak. Sweepers love decks that overextend.
100% agreement, except for the slight against Lava Spike. I love bolts, and I seldom bolt creatures, so a 3-for-1 at the dome is fine by me. It would be nice if it were an Instant though.
Much like you are, I'm keeping steady at 20 land, 4 Fireblast, 2 Shard Volley. I very seldomly have to mull because of landscrew, but I'm flooded more than I'd like to be. You've a slightly higher curve than I do, but I'm wondering if you've considered dropping to 19 land.
Heh, I just love drawing multiple Marauders. Since I can't maindeck Price of Progress in my meta and I don't like Browbeat, it's the only card that can do 5 damage, all while keeping their attacks at bay while I wait for it to lose summoning sickness. Many things can block a 2/1 and survive. Fewer things are willing to trade with a 3/3 that will be dead next turn anyway (note that Marauders is very often a 5 for 2 for this reason).
When I tried making a Bauble deck, I ended up using 8 fetches along with the 8 Baubles and 4 Wraiths, and splashing white for Lightning Helix in the main and Disenchant in the side. It makes it more fragile, but it's fun running what's essentially a 40 card deck.
Lastly, I've been testing out Barbarian Ring, and it seems to be pretty good. When goldfishing, you'll get Thresh around the time you deal the last points of damage, but you'll go slower in a real match, so it should work out fine. Good luck!
The easiest way of thinking about it is that we don't like unpredictability (e.g. Browbeat), and without a really good side effect (e.g. Magma Jet, Keldon Marauders), 2 damage for 1R is bad. If we were to use such cards, putting Lash Out in the side or Browbeat in the main is probably better. Lash Out guarantees 3 damage for 2 mana with about a 10/27 chance of doing 3 to the dome as well. I haven't done the math, but I think that's better than the chances of finding another Surging Flame. Clash also lets us Scry 1, and has more synergy with Magma Jet.
Yeah, I agree with all that. Megaliths is slow to give mana (CIPT), conditional (requires Hellbent), only pings for 1, and requires too much mana to power (4 lands on the board to cast your draw then activate). While I'm not too impressed with Barbarian Ring either, it seems better to me than the Megaliths, getting around points 1, 3, and 4. You could consider Megaliths in an accelerated build with Petals, Spirit Guides, Moxen, etc., but then you're playing a different deck.
I also agree that Burn is a bit boring, but I like using simpler archetypes from time to time for a change of pace. Sure is a breath of fresh air after playing Prison and Control all day! (Plus, you've got time for a snack after your 15 minute match :tongue:).
Also, with the amount of lands we've got, Demonfire is often a Shock for three times the mana. The only X spells that Burn seriously considers are Sweepers, because the mana inefficiency is made up for with the multiple targets. If you want to get around counterspells, run a few Boseiju in the side.
I'm facing a bit of a similar problem. My meta tends to be creature-heavy, so I've actually settled on using both Flamebreak and Keldon Marauders.
While the Marauders don't stop Lackey, you've got tons of answers to Lackey. While your Marauders don't 2-for-1 with opposing */1s in combat, it swings through or trades with considerably bigger threats. While Marauders costs 2, it guarantees 2 damage and you've still got 16 1-drops (we'll not count Shard Volley as a first-turn play).
A Keldon Marauders can stall the board long enough for them to overextend and you to find your third land for Flamebreak, something that Fanatic can't do.
A Marauders can trick your opponent into not trading 3/3 for 3/3 in combat because your guy will die anyway and they're used to thinking about the long game, whereas you're ecstatic whenever you get 5 damage for 2 mana and 1 card. Opponents know you have plenty of burn, so they'll be loathe to block your Marauders with their Goyf, Tombstalker, etc. and risk a Bolt or sweeper to their beater. They might chump-block your Marauders with a Squirrel Token, but then your Marauders will have done twice the damage to the head compared to a chumped Fanatic.
Marauders is no more vulnerable than Fanatic. While it's got a definite maximum lifespan, very seldom does Fanatic live beyond 3 turns or do more than 2 damage to the opponent. Marauders guarantees 2 to the dome while trading with a decent sized beater, holding off an attack, or getting a large beater (e.g. Goyf) into bolt range.
Burn is not afraid to use inefficient burn as long as there's a good side effect. I run Magma Jet because I can fix mana screw and mana flood, in spite of the puny 2-for-2 damage ratio. In the same sense, I run Marauders because they can be used as defense and offense. I run a lot of suicide (Flame Rift, Barbarian Ring, Flamebreak) and have a creature-heavy meta so the defensive possibilities of Marauders are significant, while at the same time they do not diminish their offensive capabilities.
I admit that Fanatic is great if your meta has a lot of Bridge from Below in it, but otherwise Marauders seem vastly superior. I've both played with and against both Fanatics and Marauders, so please try them before you knock them!